英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)論文-schoolofpolytechnic

1、<p>　　1. Introduction</p><p>　　1.1. Importance of Vocabulary in Second Language Learning</p><p>　　Vocabulary learning is an important aspect of second language learning. Vocabulary learning

2、, however, got little attention during the 1950s and 1960s and was a neglected part of second language learning. During the 1970s, research into vocabulary learning began to grow in applied linguistics and increasingly h

3、as become a focus of much research at present. The role of vocabulary memorizing has changed completely, as Maiguashca(1993) stated that the study of vocabulary has changed from being the “</p><p>　　The rese

4、archers have attached great importance to vocabulary with the enhancement of the status of vocabulary learning. Wilkins (1972) (cited from Lessard-Clouston 1996), for example, pointed out “while without grammar very litt

5、le can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. Krashen and Terrell (1983) also clearly indicated “vocabulary is of prime concern in L2 settings because it plays a dominant role in classroom success”.<

6、;/p><p>　　In a word, it is obvious now that the good grasp of a large number of words is an essential component of second language acquisition and learners, therefore, must master large vocabularies in order to

7、 get a good proficiency in second language learning.</p><p>　　1.2. Necessity of Vocabulary Memorizing Strategies </p><p>　　With the tendency of globalization and China’s entry into the WTO, the

8、significant role of English has become more evident. At the same time, English vocabulary memorizing plays a very important role in “how to learn English” well. For most Chinese learners, English vocabulary has always be

9、en their top concern as well as their big headache on which they spend a lot of time. In order to help them study English vocabulary more effectively and efficiently, it is necessary to explore learning strate</p>

10、<p>　　Oxford （1990）, one of the leading researchers in the language learning strategies field, indicated that: (1) Strategies are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing commu

11、nicative competence; (2) Learners who have developed appropriate learning strategies have greater self-confidence and learn more effectively. Therefore, the knowledge of learning strategies is important because it will f

12、acilitate language learning considerably.</p><p>　　1.3. Main Idea of the Dissertation </p><p>　　This dissertation tends to find a series of strategies accessible to memorizing words that are the

13、 most appropriate ways of learning vocabulary. In doing so, the author hopes to gain some insight into the word memorization and to improve learners’ vocabulary in the process of English language learning. To finish what

14、 the above-mentioned issues, the dissertation is presented with five parts. Part 1 is a brief introduction to the importance and necessity of vocabulary learning in second language l</p><p>　　2. Literature R

15、eview</p><p>　　2.1. Definitions of Word Memorizing Strategies</p><p>　　What exactly memorizing strategy has often been left rather vague. There are different opinions on the definition of learni

16、ng strategies among different researchers. Ellis (1994) described memorizing strategies as strategies that contribute to the development of the language system that the learner constructs and affects learning directly. L

17、ater O'Malley&Chamot (1990) stated that memorizing strategies are the special thoughts or behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or r</p><p>　　It is obvious that no strong agr

18、eement has been reached on the definition of language memorizing strategies. However, any of strategies is incomplete in general because each of them includes only one or several aspects of memorizing strategies. Ellis (

19、1994), therefore, suggested that the following characteristics should be recognized.　　</p><p>　　(i) Strategies refer to both general approaches and specific actions or techniques seed to learn an L2.</p&g

20、t;<p>　　(ii) Strategies are problem-oriented------the learner deploys a strategy to overcome some particular learning problem.</p><p>　　(iii)Some strategies are behavioral while others are mental. Thu

21、s some strategies are directly observable, while others are not.</p><p>　　(iv) The main strategies contribute indirectly to learning by providing learners with data about the L2 which they can then process.

22、However, some strategies may also contribute directly (for example, memorization strategies directed at specific lexical items or grammatical rules).</p><p>　　In summary, Ellis' understanding of memorizi

23、ng strategies with the four characteristics is relatively comprehensive. Therefore according to the above four characteristics, the definition provided by Richards, Platt and Platt (2000) is a relatively comprehensive on

24、e.</p><p>　　2. 2. Classifications of Memorizing Strategies</p><p>　　According to the relationship between strategies and language materials, Oxford's framework of memorizing strategies makes

25、 a clear distinction between direct strategies and indirect strategies. Direct strategies refer to “strategies that directly involve the target language” in the sense that they “require mental processing of the language”

26、(Oxford 1990). Indirect strategies “provide indirect support for language learning through focusing, planning, evaluating, seeking opportunities, controlling </p><p>　　According to different objectives of st

27、rategy use, Cohen (1998) divided memorizing strategies into vocabulary memorizing strategies and vocabulary using strategies. Memorizing strategies are those learning processes that are consciously selected by the learne

28、rs aimed to learn vocabulary. They include familiarizing the material for learning, grouping it for easier learning, repeatedly knowing more details about the material, and remembering it with efforts. On the other hand,

29、 vocabulary-using str</p><p>　　According to the comparison of the above memorizing strategies, we come into conclusion that Oxford’s framework of memorizing strategies (1990) appears more justifiable.</p&

30、gt;<p>　　2. 3. Methods Used to Investigate Memorizing Strategies </p><p>　　Some researchers pointed out that learner memorizing vocabulary in classroom setting is “not very productive” (Rubin 1981). A

31、nother two methods that prove to be more successful involve the use of structured questionnaires and structured interviews, both of which can elicit retrospective accounts of the strategies learners employ. Structured in

32、terviews and questionnaires can provide the most detailed information about learning strategies, although Rubin (1981) noted that learners vary greatly in </p><p>　　In summary, each of the methods used to in

33、vestigate learning strategies has its own advantages as well as disadvantages. Which method or methods should be chosen depends on the nature of the study, the subjects, the type (s) of strategies to be investigated, the

34、 resources available and the context in which learning tasks take place. </p><p>　　3. Vocabulary Memorizing of Chinese Learners</p><p>　　3.1. Two Interviews and Questionnaire of Chinese Learners

35、</p><p>　　In order to have a more in-depth understanding of the vocabulary-learning situation of Chinese learners, the author carried out two interviews and questionnaire (See Appendix). The subjects in the

36、first interview are top students of Hebei University of science and technology, and the subjects in the second one are common students in this school. 30 students fill in questionnaire. This university is not a key unive

37、rsity and itsr students’ English level is relatively low compared with those from k</p><p>　　3.2. Analysis through Two Interviews and Questionnaire</p><p>　　Through analyzing these two interview

38、s and questionnaire, we can have a general idea about situation of Chinese non-English major students’ learning of vocabulary. The problems they are facing can be summarized as follows:</p><p>　　(i). The maj

39、ority of students do not possess a scientific and systematic vocabulary learning strategy containing both direct and indirect approaches (See Chapter 4).</p><p>　　(ii). Most of Chinese non-English major univ

40、ersity students, except those with a high English level, focus too much on direct vocabulary learning strategies and pay little attention to those indirect vocabulary learning strategies including reading, listening and

41、speaking, writing etc.</p><p>　　(iii). Even for direct vocabulary learning approaches, most university students only stick to one or two very mechanic ones like memorization. They have little knowledge about

42、 those other direct vocabulary learning methods, let alone using them flexibly and scientifically.</p><p>　　From above-mentioned problems facing the majority of non-English major students in a Chinese univer

43、sity, we can find out that it is critical and important for those students who are still struggling with new words to have a overall and detailed knowledge of both direct and indirect vocabulary learning strategies and t

44、hen build, according to their own English level, a systematic and suitable vocabulary memorizing strategy. From next chapter on, I am going to touch upon this task.</p><p>　　4. On Vocabulary Memorizing Strat

45、egies</p><p>　　Basically speaking, the memorizing strategies for vocabulary are divided into two big categories, namely, direct strategy and indirect strategy. In direct strategy, a learner will focus his or

46、 her attention on vocabulary learning itself. The direct learning strategy is, to some extent, efficient in terms of return for effort and time. In indirect strategy of vocabulary learning, a learner’s concern for vocabu

47、lary is not focused on vocabulary itself. He or she may mix his or her process of learni</p><p>　　4.1. Direct Vocabulary Learning</p><p>　　In this part, direct vocabulary learning includes rote

48、learning, word cards, dictionary strategies and skills and then talks about word parts. </p><p>　　4.1.1 Rote Learning </p><p>　　Upon embarking on the process of foreign language learning, one o

49、f the most frequently asked questions of learners is how to commit a massive amount of foreign vocabularies to their memories. Obviously, the easiest way they tend to use simply is to repeat new words until they can be r

50、emembered. This is what we called rote learning, which seems to be very popular with a lot of learners. To achieve the best result while using rote learning, the learners must familiarize themselves with several poi</

51、p><p>　　First of all, they should get to know how many words should be studied at one time. Crothers and Suppes (1967)，for example, examined list sizes of new words ranging from 18 to 300. They found out that w

52、hen words were difficult, small list sizes were better, and when words were easy, large sizes were more effective.Secondly, it is important for the learners to have a clear idea about the number of repetitions that is n

53、eeded to fully remember the new words. How many times we need to meet a word b</p><p>　　Last but not least, we come to the question of learners’ habit in rote learning. Should they repeat the new words aloud

54、 or just silently? Various studies have come to almost the same conclusion that repeating words aloud helps retention far better than silent repetition. Seibert (1927) studied three conditions: studying aloud, studying a

55、loud with written recall, and studying silently, and found that the first condition always produced better results than the other two. More recent studies (Gary&</p><p>　　4.1.2 The Use of Word Cards</

56、p><p>　　It’s not rare to find learners memorize new words with a small pack of word cards. The so-called word card is a kind of tools to learn vocabulary, many words are listed in a word card and new words are

57、changed after a fixed period. Some characters and usages can be listed in the word card in order to make learners more clear about the words. Learning from word cards is a kind of intentional learning through which a lea

58、rner can quickly increase his or her vocabulary size. Before making word cards</p><p>　　After we have chosen the right words, we can set out to make those word cards. We usually put the word to be learned on

59、 one side of the card and its meaning on the other side. According to some researchers (Lado, Baldwin and Lobo, 1967), the vocabulary learning is more efficient when the meaning is written in the learners’ first language

60、 because in that way, the meaning can be easily understood and the first language meaning usually brings many rich associations for the learners. Of course, the </p><p>　　Moreover, we’d better keep changing

61、the order of the cards in the pack. According to research, learning new words in a fixed order will result in serial learning where one word helps recall the next word in the list. However, in vocabulary learning, serial

62、 learning is not useful. So changing order of the cards will avoid serial learning. It’s also important for us to be scientific in spacing the repetitions. The best spacing is to go through the cards a few minutes after

63、first looking at them, a</p><p>　　Statistics show that items at the beginning or end of a list are learned better than those in the middle. These effects are called the primacy and recency effects (Baddeley,

64、 199). So, we can put those difficult words at the beginning or the end of the pack to ensure better learning. For words are difficult to learn, sometimes, we can even write collocations of the words on the card too wher

65、e this is helpful. This particularly applies to verbs. Some words are most usefully learned in a phrase.</p><p>　　4.1.3 Dictionary Strategies and Skills</p><p>　　Many researches were conducted t

66、o find out the effectiveness of dictionaries in vocabulary learning in recent years (e.g. Hulstijn, 1993: Laufer&Hill, 2000). Actually, for a learner to grasp the necessary strategies and skills is to maximize the ef

67、fect of dictionary use in vocabulary learning.</p><p>　　Scholfield (1982) distinguished between the different strategies in using dictionaries that are used for receptive learning such as listening and readi

68、ng and those that are used for productive purpose. Obviously, the strategies and skills required in using dictionaries differ according to whether the dictionary is used in reading and listening (receptive use) or in spe

69、aking and writing (productive use). Usually, receptive use of a dictionary involves looking up the meaning of a word that has bee</p><p>　　Contrary to receptive use of a dictionary, productive use of a dicti

70、onary usually involves using a dictionary for turning ideas into language in writing and speaking. There are also four steps in the productive use of dictionaries. First, find the wanted word form. Second, check that the

71、re are no unwanted constraints on the use of the word. Third, work out the grammar and collocations of the word. Usually, the learner could learn this information from the example sentences provided in the entry.</p&g

72、t;<p>　　Since dictionary use provides access to so many words and to so much information about them, it deserves considerable amount of attention from English learners.</p><p>　　4. 1.4 The Use of the

73、Word part</p><p>　　Word part strategy is a very important and effective vocabulary learning strategy because word parts such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots can help learners learn thousands of English word

74、s. According to Nation (2001)，this strategy is useful for both high-frequency and low-frequency words. </p><p>　　(1) Prefixes</p><p>　　Only twenty prefixes,however, account for more than 9096 of

75、 prefixed words that appear in English teaching materials. For language learners, knowing these most frequently occurring prefixes would be conducive to their vocabulary acquisition. White, Power and White’s (1989) study

76、 of the four prefixes un-, re-, in-, dis- found that approximately 6096 of words with those prefixes could be understood from knowing the commonest meaning of the base word. With help from context and knowledge of the le

77、s</p><p>　　(2) Suffixes</p><p>　　The most frequently occurring suffixes are inflectional ending, such as noun endings(-s, -es)，verb endings(-ed, -ing, -en), adjective endings (-er, -est). Deriva

78、tional suffixes (such as -y, -ly, -ial, and -ic) appear in fewer than a quarter of all the words that contain suffixes, but they can also be useful to know. Other suffixes, such as -ful, and -less, are meaningful compone

79、nts of words, contributing to words’ meanings in much the same way as prefixes. Even suffixes without such stable meani</p><p><b>　　(3) Roots</b></p><p>　　When students encounter unk

80、nown words such as interdependent, readable, and substandard, they can break them into prefixes, suffixes, and familiar English roots. But what can students do with words such as biosphere, astronomy, superstructure, or

81、deconstruct? In addition to their prefixes or suffixes, these words contain Greek or Latin roots. For example, knowing that mort refers to death may help learners to figure out the meaning of mortal or immortal, but it p

82、robably does not help them to det</p><p>　　In addition to learning academic vocabulary, some roots will play an important role for learners to learn technical words as they tend to have special meanings in p

83、articular subjects. For example, for university students majoring in biology, it might be worthwhile for them to learn roots like bio-,chromo-,eco-,soma-,and so forth. </p><p>　　4.2. Indirect Vocabulary Lear

84、ning</p><p>　　We may speak of indirect vocabulary learning when the learner is using one or several skills一reading, writing, listening, speaking in order to carry out a specific communicative task. Among the

85、se four skills, reading and listening are referred to as meaning-focused input, while speaking and writing are regarded as meaning-focused output. Let’s look at them one by one.</p><p>　　4.2.1 Learning Vocab

86、ulary through Extensive Reading</p><p>　　Reading extensively is widely held to be the best way to increase one’s vocabulary. In extensive reading, learners select and read large amounts of materials that int

87、erest them and that are within their level of comprehension. For extensive reading to be effective, learners must be regularly exposed to large amounts of comprehensible text. Because the word gained from a single encoun

88、ter is likely to be forgotten unless soon followed by another encounter, repeated contextualized exposures are nec</p><p>　　Extensive reading can play an effective role in increasing the learners’ sight voca

89、bulary. The development of a large sight vocabulary is usefully interpreted as the over learning of words to the point that they are automatically recognized in print (Day&Bamford, 1998). One way to do this is to rea

90、d widely. Vocabulary learning is a gradual process of one encounter with a word adding to and strengthening the small amounts of information gained from previous encounters. Extensive reading provides </p><p&g

91、t;　　Guessing the vocabulary meaning from context has been described as the most important vocabulary learning strategy (Nation1990) and goes hand in hand with an extensive reading program. According to Im(1994)，reading e

92、nhancement correlates with readers’ vocabulary proficiency level: The stronger vocabulary a reader has, the better he is able to understand the text that he interacts with. Since context is what determines the meaning of

93、 words, and contextual guessing may be the most effective strate</p><p>　　First, learners should identify the unknown word’s part of speech initially. Second, they should search for clues in the immediate co

94、ntext, which is particularly important for L2 learners as it serves to counter hasty guesses based on word form. However, EFL learners may have difficulty identifying context clues because of their relatively undeveloped

95、 vocabulary. Third, the learners should confirm the part of speech of their inference, compare it to the unknown word and then attempt to substitut</p><p>　　4.2.2 Retelling</p><p>　　In retelling

96、, learners usually read a text that consists of around 200 words and retell it. The text provides new vocabulary and context helps understand the vocabulary, and the retelling gives learners the opportunity to retrieve t

97、he vocabulary and make generative use of it. </p><p>　　One important form of retelling is 4/3/2, in which a learner gives the same talk to three different listeners one after the other, but with four minutes

98、 to give the first delivery of the talk, three minutes for the delivery of the same talk to the second listener, and two minutes for the third. The talk can be a retelling of a previously studied text. The repetition wou